Sex Travel Survey 2021 — Better or More on Vacation, One-Night Stands & Standards on Vacation, Sex on Public Transportation

Our 2021 Alcohol Travel Survey revealed that 53% of American adults always drink on vacation. And, it also showed that nearly 36% of people have 3 or more drinks daily while on vacation. In fact, 24% even said they have alcohol-related vacation regrets. With this survey in mind, we wondered about all of the other things travelers may be doing on vacation.

We conducted this Sex Travel Survey to get the feeling people have toward sex while traveling. Do people have more sex on vacation than at home? Do people consider vacation sex more enjoyable? How many people have had a one-night stand on vacation? Are the sex standards people go by different when on vacation? On what types of public transport have people had sex? Below you can read the results of these survey questions as well as analysis.

Do you think sex is better on vacation than at home?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Yes. — 37.00%
• No. — 26.40%
• About the Same. — 36.60%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — The youngest American adults are most likely to say sex is better on vacation. 42.52% of people aged 18-29 said this. On the other hand, the oldest American adults are the least likely to say sex is better on vacation. Only 24.73% of people over age 60 said this. Males and females are equally likely to think sex is better on vacation. 37.19% of men and 36.82% of women agreed.

Key Takeaway — More than one in three American adults believe that sex is better on vacation. Based on the latest census, 37% represents over 95 million people. It is also more people than the 36.60% that said sex on vacation is about the same as at home. And, it’s over 10% more than those that said sex is not better on vacation. In general, vacation is a relaxing time so it’s easy to see why many people may feel this way.

Have you ever had a one-night stand on vacation?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Yes, more than once. — 17.80%
• Yes, but only once. — 10.80%
• No. — 71.40%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — Men are significantly more likely to say they had a one-night stand on vacation than women. 33.88% of men said they did at least once while only 23.65% of women said they did. When it comes to having a one-night stand on vacation more than once, the gap between women and men is even larger. 24.38% of men have had a one-night stand on vacation more than once. However, only 11.63% of women have.

Key Takeaway — More than one in four people admitted to having a one-night stand at least once on vacation. The 28.6% of people that said this includes the 10.80% that said they did it once and the 17.80% that have done it more than once. This figure represents over 73 million American adults age 18 or older. And, nearly 46 million of these people said they had a one-night stand on vacation more than once.

Are your standards for who you have sex with different when you are on vacation?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Yes, my standards are higher. — 11.40%
• Yes, my standards are more relaxed. — 16.20%
• No. — 72.40%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — The youngest generation is most likely to say their standards are higher for sex on vacation. 18.11% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 stated this. On the other hand, the oldest generation of Americans over the age of 60 are least likely to say their standards are more relaxed. Only 8.60% of people in this age range said that. In general, as a person’s age increases, they are less likely to say their sex standards are different on vacation.

Key Takeaway — Nearly 28% of people admitted that their standards for sex are different when they are on vacation. This includes the 11.40% that say their standards are higher and the 16.20% that say their standards are more relaxed. Over 29 million say their standards are higher. And, nearly 42 million people say their sex standards are more relaxed. In total, over 71 million American adults say their sex standards are different when they are on vacation.

On which of these forms of public transportation have you had sex? (Check All that Apply Except If You Are Checking the Last Choice.)

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Plane. — 11.60%
• Bus. — 8.00%
• Train or Subway. — 9.20%
• Taxicab or Rideshare. — 5.60%
• Ferry, Passenger Ship, or Water Taxi. (Not a Cruise Ship) — 6.20%
• None of these. (If checking this choice, check nothing else.) — 77.20%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — Men are more likely than women to have had sex on public transportation. 27.69% of men said they have. However, only 18.22% of women said they have. The youngest generation stated they were the most adventurous sexually on public transportation. 29.92% of American adults aged 18 to 29 stated they had sex on one of these public transports. The least amount of public transportation sex was by the over 60 age group at only 18.28%.

Key Takeaway — Nearly 23% of all American adults stated they have had sex in a plane, bus, train, taxi, or ferry. This equates to almost 59 million people who have had sex on public transportation. Individually, about 30 million stated they had sex on a plane. Nearly 21 million American adults have done the deed on a bus. Nearly 24 million have had sex on a train or subway. Over 14 million have done it in a taxicab or rideshare. And, almost 16 million admitted to having sex on a ferry, passenger ship, or water taxi. The 77.20% of public transportation virgins represent nearly 199 million people.

Do you have more sex on vacation than at home?

Let’s take a look at the survey results:

• Yes. — 29.00%
• No. — 36.20%
• About the Same. — 34.80%

Interesting Demographic Comparison — Men and women had nearly identical responses to the amount of sex they have on vacation verse at home. 29.75% of men said they had more while 28.29% of women said they did. On the other hand, 35.12% of men said they had less while 37.21% of women said they did. Lastly, 35.12% of men said it was about the same while 34.50% of women did.

Key Takeaway — Over 36% of American adults said they do not have more sex on vacation than at home. The 36% figure represents over 93 million people. Intuitively we might think people would have more sex on vacation. However, when we take into account singles and those traveling with kids, family and friends it makes sense. An interesting question for a follow-up survey would be to ask whether couples have more sex on vacation than at home.

Survey Methodology

This Sex Travel Survey was conducted by SurveyMonkey on behalf of The Vacationer. In total, 500 Americans over the age of 18 were polled between June 28 and June 29. Of those surveyed, 48.40% were male and 51.60% were female. The age breakdown of participants included in this survey was 25.40% in the range 18-29, 21.40% in the range 30-44, 34.60% in the range 45-60, and 18.60% over 60. This survey has a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of ±4.472%. You can learn more about SurveyMonkey’s sampling method by clicking here.

The questions were chosen and the results were analyzed by the post author, Eric Jones, who is a Mathematics and Statistics Professor at Rowan College South Jersey.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.